In that order. The Broncos are expected to address all three of those positions of need through the draft.

John Elway didn’t play any of those positions during his Hall of Fame career with the Broncos. But he is evaluating players at those positions as the team’s front-office boss.

“We have a lot of high priorities,” Elway said Friday during an NFL scouting combine news conference.

With the way the talent is lining up and the Broncos not picking until No. 25, there’s a decent chance the team may use its first-round draft choice on a defensive tackle for the first time since — gulp! — Ted Gregory in 1988. Gregory became one of the franchise’s most infamous disappointments, and it’s only a slight exaggeration to say the Broncos have been looking for a defensive tackle ever since.

“I think that’s an issue that always comes up every year, especially inside,” Elway said. “Defensive tackle is, no question, an area where we want to get better, but we also have some others.”

It’s highly unlikely the Broncos will move up from the No. 25 spot because unlike recent years, they don’t have the extra early-round picks to use as trade bait. They may move back and pick up an extra second-round pick either for this year or 2013, but for now the Broncos are planning on staying put.

It appears the only way the Broncos would not take a defensive tackle at No. 25 is if somehow Alabama running back Trent Richardson or cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick fall that far. Both are considered top-10 talents, so such a scenario is unlikely.

The consensus in this draft is there isn’t much defensive tackle depth after the first round. The cornerback position, meanwhile, is thin on first-rounders but bountiful in second- and third-round selections. Elway, though, was asked more about the quarterback position during his crowded media gathering. For a couple of reasons. One, quarterback was the position that launched Elway into the Hall of Fame. Two, Tim Tebow is the Broncos’ quarterback now.

With Tebow as the starter and Adam Weber, who spent his rookie season on the practice squad, the only other quarterback on the roster, the Broncos figure to add one more quarterback through free agency and another through the draft.

“I don’t know that we’re looking for one like Tim or your ordinary drop-back (passer), or somewhere in between,” Elway said. “I think until we find out the interest out there, it’s going to be hard to fill those spots. I think when I look at Tim and I look at our offense, we can do it with either one.”

Two free-agent quarterbacks who can do a little of both — throw from the pocket and move — are Tampa Bay’s Josh Johnson and Miami’s Chad Henne.

Elway has not talked to any representatives of unrestricted free agents from other teams at the combine. The Broncos have talked to those who represent the team’s own free agents and will send out their first contract proposals next week.

As for the quarterback the Broncos may be eyeing in the draft, the top three — Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill — are expected to be gone before the Broncos select at No. 25.

Quarterbacks who could go in the second or third rounds are Arizona’s Nick Foles, Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler and Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

More in Sports

Over the course of the pursuit of a prep wrestling championship four-peat, there always seems to be a defining match or two that either makes or breaks the chance at joining the most exclusive club in the sport.